Mississippi Notary Commission Cost

Getting a Mississippi notary commission involves several separate costs spread across different vendors and agencies. The state filing fee is just the beginning — by the time you've purchased your bond, stamp, and journal, you're looking at a total investment that varies depending on whether you add optional protections.

Required Costs

These expenses are mandatory. You cannot receive or maintain an active commission without them.

State application fee — $25. Paid to the Secretary of State with Form NP-001. Non-refundable, even if your application is denied. Pay by check or money order.

Application notarization — $5. Form NP-001 includes an oath of office that must be signed before a currently commissioned Mississippi notary. The statutory fee cap for this notarization is $5 per signature.

Surety bond — $30 to $50. Mississippi requires a $5,000 surety bond covering the full four-year commission term. You pay the premium to a licensed surety provider, not the face value. Most applicants with reasonable credit pay in the $30 to $50 range. The bond is purchased after preliminary approval, using the commission dates from your pre-commission letter.

Official notary stamp — $16 to $33. Must be an inking rubber stamp (embossers aren't allowed as the primary seal) displaying your commissioned name, "Notary Public," "State of Mississippi," your county, expiration date, and commission ID number. Prices vary by vendor and whether you choose a round or rectangular format.

Permanently bound journal — $10 to $15. Must have consecutively numbered pages. Available from national notary supply companies and local providers like Stegall Notary Service in Mississippi.

Total required cost: approximately $86 to $128 for the full four-year term.

Optional but Recommended Costs

Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance — $50 to $65 per year. Your surety bond protects the public from your mistakes, but it does not protect you. If a claim is paid against your bond, the surety company will seek full reimbursement from you personally. E&O insurance covers your defense costs and potential settlements. This is especially important for notaries handling real estate transactions or high-value commercial documents.

Loan signing agent certification — $150 to $200. If you plan to work as a signing agent for real estate closings, private certification through organizations like the National Notary Association is effectively required by title companies and signing services, even though it's not a state mandate.

Ongoing Costs

Address change — $20. If you move to a different county within Mississippi, file Form NP-004 with the Secretary of State. You'll also need a new stamp reflecting the updated county.

Name change — $20. Legal name changes require Form NP-005, a new surety bond, and a new stamp.

Commission renewal. Every four years, the renewal process mirrors the initial application: new Form NP-001, new $25 fee, new bond, and new stamp.

How Mississippi Compares

Mississippi's total commissioning cost is moderate compared to other states. States that require mandatory training or exams (like California or New York) add $100 to $200 in education costs on top of similar filing and bonding fees. Mississippi's absence of a training mandate keeps the financial barrier lower, though it shifts the responsibility for learning proper procedures onto the applicant.

The Mississippi notary commission guide includes a cost worksheet and supplier comparison tool so you can budget accurately before starting the application process.

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